Love in the Palace
by Janie Phuong
Summary: The normal girl Sakura Haruno was going to be a queen, but the king seemed to be really cold-hearted, and who was his previous dead queen ? NaruSaku.
1. Chapter 1

**LOVE IN THE PALACE**

**Hi guys, hope you like this NaruSaku fanfic, if you like, please review, it's the best way to encourage me ^^.**

_**Chapter 1 : The day the life changed**_

Once upon a time, in the Konoha Kingdom, the most beautiful and prosperous kingdom in the world, there is a pink-haired girl named Sakura Haruno. She lived alone in a small village near the palace, where the king lived. Her job was teaching the children in the village, but she still very poor because she can only teach the ones who can't go to school. Yes, an intelligent, erudite girl like that didn't deserve such an austere life. But one day, a day that changed her life.

* * *

"It's been two years since the queen passed away, but the king hasn't take another wife yet, it will be a big problem if we just keep him like that." Sasuke Uchiha, a trustworthy henchman of the king, said to Shikamaru Nara, the mastermind.

"Yeah, I bet we should do it on our own, then let the time do the rest." Shikamaru replied.

"The lady must be intelligent and beautiful, of course, not resemble the queen." Sasuke said, put his hand under his chin.

"Shall we look for her today ?"

* * *

"Ok guys, you can go home now, see you all tomorrow !" Sakura, as usual, ended up another class with the kids.

"See you tomorrow, Haruno-sensei." The kids replied in chorus.

Sakura sighed, _Another day has nearly passed_, she thought, _I need to find a job, a full-time job, or else I might starve to death, but… I don't want to abandon the kids…_. She was sunk in thinking. Finding a job was not difficult at all, but if she had a job, the kids would have no classes. The other job of Sakura at that moment was babysitting a 3-year-old boy of a noble family, but she earned not really much by that.

"Watch your move, idiot." Suddenly, she heard a loudly noise that pulled her out of thought.

"Sorry, sir, I didn't mean to."

There was a middle-aged man who was covered in dirt, and a boy was standing in front of him and bowed down to the ground.

"Sorry won't effect, you have to pay for this." The man was still angry.

"But… I don't have money." The boy jumped out of his skin.

"I don't care, if you don't have money, you will have to do something for me to pay for this."

_What a pitiless man._ Sakura thought. No need to think about anything, she jumped in the conversation.

"Sorry, sir, but the boy has already said sorry, and he didn't mean to, it's just a little dirt, after you take a bath and wash the clothes, you'll be clean like before." Sakura said.

The man seemed to be speechless, but he still tried to have something to say.

"I… I don't have time for that, I'm very busy."

"So is he, he's just a kid, but I bet that he has more things to do than you, most of all, he isn't clean like you usually are. Why don't you think about that ?" Sakura said.

The man's face looked puzzled instead of self-confident like before. He couldn't browbeat Sakura because there were many people around.

"Okay then, you win, and you don't have to pay anything." The man said, then leave, boiled over with suppressed anger. The boy smiled happily, looked at Sakura with appreciated eyes.

"Thank you very much." The boy said.

"You're welcome, ah, I haven't gotten your name yet." Sakura asked.

"I'm Kochiro Uzumaki."

"Uzumaki ? That's…" Sakura's eyes widen, she realized something strange.

"Well done, little prince, sensei appreciate that." A voice appeared.

"Ah, sensei." The boy said loudly and ran to the one who just spoke.

There were two men, one with black-haired that was tied high, one with raven-haired and raven-eyed. The raven-haired walked closer to Sakura and introduced himself.

"I'm Sasuke Uchiha, one of the king's henchman," Then he turned to the black-haired, "and this is Shikamaru Nara, the mastermind of the king."

Sakura couldn't say a word, she still didn't understand anything.

"Oh, and this is Kochiro Uzumaki, the little brother of the king." Shikamaru talked about the boy who was standing next to him.

"Sensei, you saw what I have done ?" The boy said in happiness.

"Yes, you have done a really good work, I will reward you when we return." Shikamaru smiled with him.

"Yay." Kochiro leaped for joy.

"Wait, what work ? And why is "the king" here ? And, why are the… poor boy is the brother of the king ?" Sakura said, still didn't get anything.

_**~.~.~ To be continued ~.~.~**_

**So, what do you think about it ?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hope you like chap 1, here is chap 2. Enjoy !**

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* * *

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_**Chapter 2 : The Palace – Big but Gloomy**_

"Oh, then I'll tell you about it." Sasuke said, before he continued, he clean his throat, "As you know, the queen passed away two years ago, the palace, or I mean the kingdom, needs a new queen, or else there will be no one to succeed to the throne."

"But the king don't mind about it, he became cold-hearted." Shikamaru went on, "So we have to do it ourselves."

Sakura's eyes were more widen, she seemed ro realize something, "Wait, so you mean…I'm… the one ?"

"Good catching story." Shikamaru smiled, made a thumb up to Sakura.

"Then she will me my sister-in-law ? HOORAY !" Kochiro yelled happily.

"No, I can't do this, I still have many things that I have to do, and the kids, I can't leave them !" Sakura shook her head.

Sasuke and Shikamaru looked at each others, speechless for a while, "You mean, you have… children ?" Sasuke frowned.

Heard that, Sakura laughed, "What are you talking about ? I'm only eighteen, and I haven't had a husband yet, the kids those mean the kids in the village, I have to teach them because they can't afford to go to school."

"Ahh, so that's what." The two king's henchmen looked a bit elegantly slender.

"Don't worry, the teachers of the schools are opening the home-classes to earn more than just teach at schools, and I KNOW that the fare won't be high." Shikamaru smiled with Sakura.

Sakura looked happier, if it was true then she wouldn't be worried about them. But she was still confused about being a queen. It would help her live a much better life, but that meaned she would be stuck in the Palace forever.

Realized what Sakura was thinking, Sasuke said gently, "Ok then, we will have a contract, you will be a queen until you convert the king's heart, after that, you can go home with our rewards are 500 000 KM (Konoha money) and a job with high."

Finally, in front of the big reward like that, Sakura's determination was shaky, "O…Ok, I'll do it, but keep you words, and I'm not an easy-forget girl."

"Whatever you say." They said in chorus

* * *

After a while sitting in carriage, they finally arrived at the Palace. Sakura couldn't believe that she could be IN the Palace. It was very large and magnificent. The huge gate started opening after the carriage had stopped. Behind that gate, the "fairy" views appeared in front of Sakura's eyes, there was a big road to some kind of… another gate, on the two side of the road, there were four fountains and many trees and flowers, but, no birds or butterflies.

_Weird, at a place like this, no birds or butterflies come ? _Sakura thought.

"Let's go to the harem first, I'll talk to the mandarins and announce to the king, don't worry, you won't be kick out of here." Sasuke smiled gently with Sakura.

* * *

"What ? I'll live in a place like this ?" Sakura was surprised, in front of her, there was the large house with the title above the door said "Harem". She couldn't believe it, she would live alone in the place like that ? That would be the first time of her entire life, yeah, sweet first time.

"Yeah, there are many maid-servants in the harem, you can talk with them whenever you want, you can be friends, too." Shikamaru replied.

"Ok then, let's go in." Sakura said cheerfully.

She opened the doors. A huge room appeared in front of her eyes, all the furnitures looked very luxurious and expensive. From here, she could see a pond outside the room to the left, and there was another door, Sakura wondered where it would lead. Sasuke and Shikamaru all walked to the room, but Sakura didn't, her feet seemed to root.

"Come on, harem is very big, you should go see around, I bet there are a lot of interesting here." Sasuke turned round to Sakura.

"Ah, yes." She walked slowly to the two men.

After a while, Sakura looked like she had known the ways, so Sasuke and Shikamaru said goodbye to her.

"I'm gonna tell the maids about you so don't worry, just enjoy it." Sasuke smiled.

"Thanks."

* * *

"Your majesty, I have something to tell." Shikamaru started the conversation.

"About having a new queen ? Can you two just give me a break ?" A gruff voice said.

"No, your majesty, you have to have a new queen, the mandarins are very upset about this." Sasuke continued.

"I don't care, I'm still a king, anything I say, anything they have to do." The voice was still gruff.

"If you don't choose on your own, then we have to help you with this, your majesty." Shikamaru said, "We've had a girl to be the new queen, she conforms to the standard."

"Shikamaru, Sasuke," The voice was suddenly gentle, "it's not that I'm don't want to have another wife, it's just… I still can't forget about…"

"I know you still love the old queen, but she is dead now, you have to face the true, if you still like that, the queen will revive ?" Sasuke said, raised his voice a bit.

A minute of silence. No voice appeared since then. The huge room at that moment just had the sounds of the wind. Sasuke hoped that what he had said will shake the king's determination. About Shikamaru, he was thinking about another arguments to persuade the king. About the king, well… who knows about him.

"Ok then, I'll let her be the queen, but I'm not gonna DO ANYTHING (try to guess what he meant ^^) with her until I completely forget about the old queen." Finally, the king said, completely resigned.

* * *

Sakura was wandering aroung the harem. At the garden, where had the pond, there were many many flowers and trees, the rock road was beautiful, too. She thought that they sure were made of the old queen. And the pond was completely clear. But she was still wondering, _A wonderful place like this but with no animals, there's a pond, with no fish, many flowers but no birds or butterfly ?_. Then she realized that maybe the harem had belonged to the old queen, but she was dead, it looked like everything had died with her. _The Palace, big, yeah it's big, but it's so gloomy._ Sakura thought.

_**~.~.~ To be continued ~.~.~**_

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* * *

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**So, are you wondering about who is the old queen ? Hint : she's not an OOC (still not a hint huh ^^ )**


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter 3 : The late queen**_

"Uchiha-sama ?" Sakura said, Sasuke just came in the harem, "Is everything ok ?"

"The king has accepted about this, so don't worry." Then Sasuke realized that "the queen" was wearing like "the pauper", "But first, you have to change your outfit."

"What ? But I don't have any… 'queen-styled' !"

"Have you forgotten who you ARE now ?" Sasuke extended his hand to Sakura, "Follow me, your highness."

Sakura was confused, but she still did what he had said. After a moment, they were in a large room, with many closets, _This is the changing room or my bedroom ? Is it a kind of wasting area ? _Sakura thought.

"A queen always has many events to attend, so she shouldn't wear same clothes in so much events, or else… got it ?" Sasuke started explaining.

"Ohm…not quite…" Sakura replied.

"The others judge the wealth of the Palace, or bigger is the whole kindom, just by the appearance, queens and kings are the ones who represent their kingdom, so … I think you quite know something by that." Sasuke paused.

"Yeah, I got it, so… what should I wear ?" Sakura looked around her, there were at least ten closets in the room, they made her going dizzy.

"Whatever you like, so take it easy, I won't bother you until you're finish." Then Sasuke got out of the room, of course he didn't forget to … close the doors.

_I have to go check on EVERY closet ?_ Sakura thought, that was the first time she thought that she was so silly. She walked slowly to the pink closet, her favorite color. She opened it, a surprise appeared clearly on her face : there weren't many dresses in there, but the closet was big. Sakura immediately went see the others, they were the same, except for the purple one, it was full of dresses, accessories, and many things that a girl like. _Weird, the old queen liked dark-colored things ?_ Sakura thought. But that thought didn't stay in her mind for long, she returned to the pink and picked the pink dress.

"Maybe I should sew one for myself someday, I don't think I fit the dark clothes, especially when I have pink hair." She said to herself.

The dress Sakura was wearing was the finest in the pink closet, and it made Sakura look much much prettier than before.

"Hey mirror, is it too… luxurious for me ?" She stood in front of the mirror and asked, and she knew there would be no answers.

Then Sakura slowly walked to the main doors, and slowly opened it. Sasuke was standing and waiting outside, when he saw Sakura, he looked like just got out of… a dream, a day-dream. But who cared about that, he was totally surprised about Sakura, 'the pauper' has become 'the queen'.

"So, how do I look ? I think it's worse." Sakura said.

"No, it's fine… pretty fine." Sasuke said, why didn't he say that she was gorgeous, that what he was thinking.

* * *

Sakura was wandering around the whole Palace with Sasuke, he introduced her to everywhere that a new queen needed to know. Sakura seemed to acquire them very well. At last, they stopped at Sasuke's place. It was kind of big, of course couldn't be big like the harem, but it was still bigger than the old house of Sakura.

Sasuke led to the small garden, where had a small table and some chairs, "Here, take a seat, your highness.".

"Huh ? Ah… ok." Sakura still didn't get used to the "your highness", "Uchiha-san, when there are only two of us, please call me by 'Haruno' or… 'Sakura', ok ?"

"With a term," Sasuke smiled a handsome smile.

"What will it be ?" Sakura seemed interested.

"You'll have to call me Sasuke too." Sasuke looked straight to her eyes, looked serious, "Is that alright ?"

"Ok then, since you're the first person I get along in this royal life." Sakura smiled, agreed.

They stopped talking and drinked some tea for a while, then Sakura started the conversation.

"Uchi… I mean, Sasuke-san, can you tell me more about the old queen ? Is she… a quiet person."

"Everyone first met always said that she was hard to get to know, but when they were close to her, no one would say that." Sasuke said, "She was very gentle, good at anything but housework, that was because she always lived in wealth."

"You seem to know her a lot, right ?" Sakura asked.

"Of course I do, she was my younger sister after all." Sasuke smiled, but his face was sunk in sadness.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to mention about this, if you don't like talking about this, we can change the topic." Sakura said immediately after seeing that emotion.

"No no, that's ok, I'm used to it, you really need to get to know about her, right ? Then I'll tell you everything about her." Like he said, he talked all about the queen, with many emotions in every sentence he said, sad, happy, angry, and so on.

And of course, the end of the story about the late queen came. Just like Sakura thought, she liked purple and dark color, she was a bit clumsy, too. But despite of that, she was a good person.

"Oh, and I have a question, why do the Palace…" Sakura said.

"With no animals ?" Sasuke cut in, he knew what she wanted to say, "Ya know, before, the Palace had plenty of animals, birds, butterflies, fish, and even a dog. Of course, they were all belonged to the queen. After her death, the king doesn't want to grieve by them, so he commanded to release them, and not to let any animals come to the Palace."

"Oh, that's it."

It was already twilight, Sakura knew that she had to go to the harem or else, she wouldn't be able to find the way back.

"I really have to go now, thanks for the talking." Sakura said.

"Let me walk you there." Sasuke suggested.

* * *

They walked along with the ethereal day-moonlight. On the way back, they didn't talk much, or could say that they just walked, in silence. But finally, they still got to the harem gates.

"So if there anything, just let me know, I'll help you." Sasuke said and readied to leave.

"Wait," Sakura said, "I… still didn't get the name of your… sister !"

Sasuke smiled gently, "It's Hinata, Hinata Uchiha."

* * *

"Hinata ?" Sakura was still thinking about the old queen, even it was totally dark outside, "What a gentle name, just hear the name, I can almostly know her personality."

Then she stood up, looked at the sky, "Don't worry about anything, your highness, I swear I will take good care of His Majesty."

Suddenly, a maid came into her room and announced, "Your highness, His Majesty is waiting outside."

_Huh ? His Majesty ? No way, how can I …? _Sakura was surprised, she didn't know how to react, then finally "Let him come in…" she said.

_What did I just say ? Oh Sakura you stupid forehead. _Sakura said to herself.

* * *

**Sorry, chapter 3 is out late, it's because i was too busy, but everything is fine now, so... hope you enjoy this ^^**


	4. Chapter 4

_**Chapter 4 : And here's the king**_

"Long live, Your Majesty." The maids said in chorus, bowed low.

Of course, our queen was still in confusion. She absolutely made a big mistake. But she couldn't change anything at all. And the king walked slowly inside, closer to Sakura.

Sakura looked up, he was a tall man in luxurious dark orange clothes, his hair was blonde, and he has deep blue eyes, like the sea. Suddenly, Sakura realized that she had been disrespecting towards His Majesty, she quickly stood up, and bowed herself.

"Long live Your Majesty." She said.

The king walked to the chair and sit, "You can rest now." he said with calm and gentle voice.

"Sorry because I made you wait for long." He continued, looked at Sakura, could say it like 'top-to-toe'.

"No no, that's not your fault, I know that you have lots of things to care about." Sakura said, still avoided to look at him.

"If I say I didn't come because I didn't care about you, what will you say ?"

Sakura paused for a while, then she smiled, looked straight to the king, "I don't think so, if you didn't care about me, you wouldn't come here."

The king leaned on the back of the chair, "Why don't you sit ? I didn't command you to stand like that."

Followed those words, Sakura walked to the other chair next to the king and sit down. She seemed a bit confused when she reached the chair.

"Sasuke told me that you were a teacher, right ?" The king said.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Sakura replied, poured out a cup of tea.

"I don't mind checking your cultures, but I bet you have known about the rules of the Palace." He took a cup and drank a bit.

"Yes, I have."

"And you know about my past, right ?" His voice was lower than before.

"Yes, Uchiha-san have told me."

"I just want to tell you something before I leave." The king suddenly stood up, "Even when their only two of us, or in front of anybody else, you MUST NOT call me by my name, or touch me." the calm and gentle voice changed, it was cold, and he glared at Sakura.

"O… I mean, yes, Your Majesty." Sakura was scared. Then the king turned round and walked to the main doors, without looking back. "Wait…" Sakura said, stood up, "If I don't know your name, how can I avoid to call you by name ?".

Naruto just glanced at her, "If you don't know my name, you won't call me by name." and he left.

In the room, there was only Sakura. From the window, Sakura could see the full moon was shining, along with the stars. With nothing left to do, Sakura went change her clothes and went to bed.

_He's a clever one, I can't just stay and wait here, maybe Sasuke can help me about this, but…how can I get a chance to see him ? _Sakura was sunk in thoughts while she was lying on her huge bed, _I bet I have to try._

_

* * *

_

Sakura still remembered the way to Uchiha Sasuke's residence, and at that moment, she was in front of it. She sighed, still wondered if she should go in or not. _If he is busy, I don't want to annoy him, but if he is not ? What if this will be a rumour ? How will I be able to face it ? _Sakura thought.

Those thoughts kept annoying Sakura, at last, she decided to not going. Then she kept walking, walking, it wasn't a way to the harem, but it led to… oh who knowed where. She just walked like that, until she realized that she was standing in front of the Royal Library.

"Royal Library ? Perfect, I feel like reading at the moment." Then she walked in.

The library wasn't crowded, but there were thousands of books, in many kinds. Sakura wandered around to find something to read. _There are so many things, which should I start with ? _Sakura thought, then she found a book named "Royal Family Annals", no need to think, she took it immediately. After that, she looked for a place to sit, and she came to the table in front of the window, which led the sight to the Palace Garden.

There was a man sitting there, he was Sasuke Uchiha. When he realized the presence of Sakura, he stood up.

"Sak… Queen Haruno ?" He said, "What are you doing here ?"

"I can't be here ?" Sakura smiled.

"Ah, I didn't mean…"

"Just kidding. Right in time, I just want to ask you something." Sakura took a seat opposite Sasuke.

"And what is that, your highness ?" Sasuke sit down.

"About the king, what's his name ?" Sakura said.

"I think that the thing you are carrying has the answer." Sasuke looked at the book.

"This ? It's just a book of annels."

"No, it's rewritten every one year, you know, in only one year, many things happen, so we have to write them all down, if the things concern to the Royal Family, it will be in the Royal Family Annels, if the things concern to the affairs of state, it will be in 'Konoha's Records of the Historian'." Sasuke explained.

"Really ? Thank you very much, there sure are many things I have to learn."

"To have your thank, it's my honor." Sasuke stood up, bowed himself, "Ok, you can stay and read as long as you can, I have to go see the king now. Take care of yourself, your highness."

Then he left. Sakura returned to the book, she read from the beginning, and stopped at the name "Uchiha Hinata". _That's the late queen name ! _Sakura thought, then looked at the person who was marked at her husband, it was "Uzumaki Naruto."

* * *

"Sorry I'm late, Your Majesty, it won't be a next time." Sasuke said in rush when he arrived at the king's place. Shikamaru was there too.

"It's ok, we haven't started yet." The king said, "Can you close the door for me, and ask the servants to rest ?"

"Of course, Your Majesty." Then Sasuke went out for a minute, then came back in.

"Now we're safe." Shikamaru said.

"Naruto, I heard you came to the harem last night, right ?" Sasuke said.

"Yeah, but I didn't stay for long, just for minutes." Naruto said.

"Why ? You don't like her ?" Shikamaru asked.

"Not at all, she is pretty, clever, but you know… I am still not ready to have a new wife, I just…" Naruto said, his face turned sad.

"We know how you feel, but I don't think Hinata agrees with this." Sasuke said straightly, "You will need some times for get used to it, but you still have to have a sussecor."

"I know… You are all my friends, best friends, I know you care about me a lot, but… just let me handle it by my own, ok ?"

A minute of silence. Six eyes looked at each others.

"Well, if you say so, then I have nothing to say anymore, I won't step into this again." Shikamaru said, then left.

"It's kind of late, you need to rest, anyway." And Sasuke followed Shikamaru.

* * *

"Phew, I'm finish reading this, after hours." Sakura sighed, then she took the book back to the shelf.

She walked to the main gates of the library, readied to come back to the harem, but…

"Uh-oh, I … have lost the way !" Sakura said, in fright

_**~.~.~ To be continued ~.~.~  
**_

**Well, chapter 4 is a bit late, right ? Sorry, I have many things to care all the week.**

**Ok, I'll update new chapter every Friday (earlier or later depends on the time zone), I think that would be better ^^**


	5. Chapter 5

_**Chapter 5 : Memories in Library**_

Naruto was gazing the stars, hoping for the appearance of Hinata, for once. But he knew, he knew that was impossible. He just could search for Hinata in his past.

_Flashback_

_One night, when all the places in the kingdom had been twilight, everybody went to have a goodnight sleep. In the Palace, except for the guards, no one was still awake. Oh, said too soon, the young blond-haired king stayed up a bit late, in his own room, he was gazing the stars._

'_Should I take a wife ?' He thought. He was in the age of 19, was throned for a year, everyone always told him to have a wife. But sadly, with a picky guy like him, no one could be chosen._

_He stood up from his seat, started walking around the room, thought about his marriage. Then he decided to go to the library, he thought he could get sleepy if he read some books._

_What a cold night. Fortunately, the king wore clothes thick enough. So good that he could go out alone, enjoy his freedom for once. And then, he walked to the library. The wind blewed along with him, supported his steps._

_The gate of the library was right in front of the king. He slowly came closer and opened the gate, walked inside. The smell of old papers spread everywhere in the room, and he liked it. He continued walking to the window which led the sight to the garden. When he approached, he realized that there was someone sitting there. It was a girl. She was asleep._

'_What did she do here ?' He said quietly._

_Then he shook her, and call 'Hey, hey, get up, you should go back to your place, this is not a place for you to sleep.'._

_The girl was startled. She looked at the king with her strange eyes, light purple eyes. She couldn't say a word. At that moment, the king noticed that she had a gentle beauty, it made him became frozen._

'_Who… are you ?' Her low and light voice pulled him out of unconscious._

'_Huh ? Uh…You don't know me ?' He asked._

'_I…think…' She replied._

_The king took a seat opposite her, with his chin propped up._

'_You can call me Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki.' He said gently._

'_Nice to meet you, Naruto, I'm Hinata Uchiha.'_

_End of flashback_

Naruto couldn't forget about that moment, the moment he and Hinata first met. Sadness appeared on his face. Then he slowly put his coat on.

"Hinata, if you're still here, please meet me, once is still ok." He said, looked towards to the way to the library.

* * *

Back to Sakura, she lost her way back, and she had to stay in the library. _What an awful day._ She thought, _Now what I'm gonna do in this place, I have to sleep, and I haven't eaten yet._

She went back to the table which she had sit with Sasuke back then, sit, and looked at the garden. It was so cold, however there was no blankets in the library, so Sakura had to stand the cold. After a moment, she let herself fall to the table, asleep.

* * *

Naruto was on his way to the library. Everything was still the same like before, a cold night, a lonely king, all alone. He thought about his past with Hinata while walking. Just a minute later, he arrived at the library.

He went inside, hoped for a miracle. He also smelled the smell of old papers, was that a good omen ? Then he walked faster to the table which he had found Hinata. A smile appeared on his face, he found a… girl. No hesitation, he shook her madly.

"Hinata, is that you ? Hinata !" He said loudly.

The girl woke up, looked at Naruto. At that moment, the moon floated by and the lights ran to the room. By the light, Naruto could realized the girl had green eyes and pink hair, she was Sakura, not Hinata he had been looking for. Sakura noticed that was the king, she stood up, tiredly.

"Yo… Your Majest …" She said.

But she couldn't stand, she fell down, and Naruto caught her. Sakura was unconscious. He shook her hard.

"Hey, hey, what's wrong with you ?" He said, really in worry.

He touched her big forehead. It was really hot, he noticed that she had caught a cold. Then he quickly hold her and ran outside, to the harem.

_**~.~.~ To be continued ~.~.~**_

**A bit earlier than the schedule, but hope you all like it, though it's a bit short.**

**Flying Fox of Snowy Mountain : thanks for your review, it helps me a lot.**


	6. Chapter 6

_**Chapter 6 : Just a cold, but that's over-reacting**_

**I'm not sure there are any harems in Europe or American in the past, but in Asia, harems were places for consorts and concubines, one king could have many concubines, they all lived in harems. You can see this word in some manga like Saiunkoku Monogatari.**

**Anyway, enjoy new chapter ^^**

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Naruto held Sakura and ran fast to the harem, ignored the cold of the night. When he arrived at the harem, he shouted loudly.

"Go call the physician !"

Everyone awakened from there deep sleeps, but they didn't mind about Sakura, they went to the Royal Physician's immediately. After a while, the physician arrived at the harem, while he was half-asleep.

"Check on her." Naruto commanded, he was full of worry.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

He touched Sakura's forehead, then felt her pulse. After a minute, his frowned face relaxed. He stood up, bowed at Naruto, and talked gently.

"Your Majesty, the queen is still well, it's just a cold, maybe she…"

"JUST a cold ?" Naruto suddenly stood up, cut him off, but then, he regained his self-possessed, his voice was lower, "I don't care if it's just or not just, you have to heal her right now."

Then he went out, to the garden. _What's wrong with me ? You have to stay calm, Naruto. _Naruto said to himself. Then he noticed that he was in the garden, Hinata's garden, he looked at all the things with sad eyes, he walked slowly to the pond, the 'Royal Fish Family' wasn't there anymore.

_Flashback_

_The happiest married couple was sitting near the pond in the garden of the harem. The wife, dark purple-haired, was feeding the golden fish, while her husband, blonde-haired, was watching her. They had just been husband and wife._

"_Naruto, look, I chose these two fish on purpose, do you know why ?" The wife said._

_Naruto was thoughtful for a little while, then said, "Because… you like it ?" he slowly came and hugged his wife from her back._

"_You silly, of course I like them, but that's not the main reason." She hit lightly to his arm._

"_Ok Hinata, I give up."_

_Hinata looked at the fish, then smiled, and said, "One of them is male and the other is female. Just like us, they don't live with their parents, then, they have to build their own family. After some time, they will have children, then grandchildren, and even great grandchildren. They will become Royal Fish Family."_

_Naruto looked deeply to Hinata's eyes, he hugged her tighter, said, "Promise me, promise me to help me make a biggest Royal Family ever."_

_Hinata smiled gently, replied, "I promise, I swear, in any languages."_

_End of Flashback_

_In the end, you didn't keep your promise. _Naruto thought, Hinata is gone, and so the fish. Only Naruto who was standing at the place. The night took so long to pass by. He hated nights, the nights made him looked back on the past, the past with Hinata.

"Your Majesty ?" A voice cut his thought.

"Huh ? Yes ?"

"Sorry if I interrupted you Your Majesty, the queen has taken the medicine, she should rest for a few days to regain her energy." That was the physician.

Naruto's face relaxed, "Thanks, you can go now."

The physician left, then Naruto came into Sakura's room. He looked at Sakura for a while, with strange kind of emotion. But not for long, he told the servants to take care of Sakura carefully, then he left.

* * *

The next day, Sakura seemed to be a bit better. When she awakened, she noticed that she was in the harem. _I don't think that I had sleep-walking from the library to the harem. _Sakura thought. Then she called the servant in.

"May I help you, your highness ?" The servant said.

"How did I get back ?" Sakura asked.

"Oh, that's the king who took you back, at that time, you were having a fever."

_The king ? _Sakura thought, she was surprised, and happy, she had thought that the king wouldn't care about her, but now, she was totally sure that she had been wrong. She slowly put her feet on the ground, and tried to stand up.

"Your highness, you shouldn't walk at the moment." The servant paniced, she came and supported Sakura.

"I'm ok, I must go thank the king first, don't worry, if there's anything, I'll take all the responsibility." Sakura said.

"Saying is a piece of cake, but doing is a buch of mountains." A voice appeared, taking all the attention.

It was Naruto. The servants bowed immediately when they saw him, only Sakura was still standing straight, or more correct, she felt so heavy. Realized Sakura's emotion, Naruto said.

"You don't need to go anywhere, I'm here now, just ask what you want."

He took a seat next to Sakura's bed, Sakura sit on the bed, tried to avoid his eyes.

"Didn't you say you want to thank me ?" Naruto said.

"Yes, thank you, but…" Sakura paused, "It didn't seem like you like me, why did you… help me ?"

Naruto sighed, looked to another side, the said, slowly, "Do you… really want to know ?"

_**~.~.~ To be continued ~.~.~**_

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**That's also my question for you, "Do you really want to know ?". If yes, then I'll answer, if no, I'll skip it.**


	7. Chapter 7

_**Chapter 7 : How she died**_

Naruto looked deep into Sakura's eyes, waited for a response. Sakura was a bit confused, was she too curious ? "Oh… I… sure want to know but… if you don't like…" Sakura stammered.

"Two years ago, when Hinata was still alive…" Naruto began his story, he stood up, walked to the window, looked outside.

_Flashback_

_The queen had been having some coughes since a few days ago. That was the cold season, someone caught a cold was an obvious thing. After a week, it stopped ? No, it was worse than before. She coughed harder. She took medicine everyday but it was helpless._

_One day, Naruto came over, he noticed that Hinata's sickness was more serious. She became very pale, the lips were really dry. He called the physician immediately._

"_How's she ?" Naruto asked after the physician had checked on Hinata._

"_Your Majesty…" The physician couldn't, or dared not say a word._

_Naruto said louder, "Answer me, tell me it is just a cold." he looked straight to the confused eyes._

"_Your Majesty, please calm, I'm not sure if you can stand this but… the queen's illness wasn't a cold, it's…" He paused, avoided looking at Naruto's eyes, "it's incurable, she can only live within a month."_

_Naruto was frozen, couldn't believe a word. He looked at the physician, looked for a hint that it was just a joke. But unfortunately for him, his face was totally serious. Everyone lowered their heads, couldn't hide their sadness. Naruto ran to Hinata's bed, held her hand._

"_Hinata, is that…real ?" He asked, when he already knew his answer._

_Hinata just smiled, softly nodded, even though her heart was cut by a virtual sharp knife. "But I still have a month to spend my last days with you, that's enough for me." She said._

"_Enough for you, but a large lack for me, you know ?" Naruto said in pain._

_End Flashback_

"After a month, she died, and then, I became cold-hater, or you can say cold-fearer. If I see anyone has a cold, it'll remind me about that day, and I can't stand it. That's why I did that yesterday."

Naruto ended, looked back at Sakura. He was surprised that Sakura eye's were full of tears. When their eyes met, Sakura quickly brushed away the tears. Naruto came and sit at the chair he had sit earlier. _What a faithful guy ! _Sakura thought.

"Sakura !" A voice appeared, broke the quiet space. It was Sasuke. He was surprised when he realized that Naruto was there too, "Oh, Your Majesty. Sorry if I interrupted you." Sasuke decided to walk away.

"Wait," Naruto said, "did you just call her… Sakura ?" he looked at Sasuke with suspected eyes.

Sasuke didn't know what to respond, he couldn't say that he had become closer to the queen, it would be a big guilt. Realized his worry, Sakura helped in.

"Oh, there's nothing. You know, since he the one I'm closest with in this palace, so I let him call me by name when there's only two of us." Naruto looked back at Sakura at the end, it made her voice suddenly became lower.

But there's nothing big happened. Naruto stood up, still kept his face calm, started walking to the front door.

"Ok, you guys can have private moments for now." He said, then his shadow disappeared.

Sasuke and Sakura looked at him with curious eyes, were all afraid that he would misunderstand. After a while in silence, Sasuke said.

"So, how's it going ?"

Sakura looked at him, then smiled "I'm fine, at least maybe I'm better than yesterday.".

"You fell asleep at the library because you didn't get the way back, and then you caught a cold, right ?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah, His Majes…" Sakura paused, then startled, "Wait, how do you know so detailed ?"

Sasuke laughed, not happy, a sad laugh, he avoided look at her eyes, "Hinata was the same as you, she was the silliest girl I've ever known.", he smiled, but there were a few tears on his eyes.

He told her about how Naruto and Hinata met. Sakura noticed that Sasuke was going to cry whenever he could, but he was holding back, not to let her know about his feelings. When he finished, everything was still in silence, everything might remember about the late queen at that moment.

"Oh, you still have to rest, so… I'd better go, see you later !" Still was Sasuke the one who broke the silence, but then, he left after bowing at Sakura.

Sakura sighed, looked outside the window, to the sky, "Hinata Uchiha, should I blame you ? You're gone, but you left so many things, even… even a stranger can be sad just because of your past.".

* * *

"So, do you have any ideas ?" A long blond-haired with pony-tailed girl said to another girl. Her hair was blonde, too, but it was tied in four parts. Next to her is a girl with dark-bun-style-hair. They were all in the kitchen of the harem.

"Does it really necessary, Ino ?" The blonde-four parts-haired girl said.

"Of course, Temari." Ino replied, "I can't let her in this place, and the king can't be hers either, right, Ten Ten ?" then she looked at the other girl.

"I'm on Ino's side. That's really unfair for Hinata." Ten Ten said. She and Ino looked straight at Temari after that.

"Ok fine, I lost, now what do you want me to do ?" Temari raised one of her hand, with embittered emotion.

"You'll see," Ino smirked.

_**~.~.~ To be continued ~.~.~**_

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**You know, I'm having many pairs I want to pair, but I still don't have many ideas. However, I'll try my best, so hope you continue R&R this fanfic. Love ya.**


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